When the pulp of a tooth is decayed and unhealthy, endodontic treatment must be administered to prevent further infection. During a root canal procedure, a top portion of the tooth is drilled out to create an access cavity, and a series endodontic files are applied through the tooth. The files are used to bore a hole through the tooth and also to grab and retract infected biomass. In one method of root canal therapy, increasingly-larger files are introduced to the tooth to gradually bore out the hole. Many files are used during a root canal.
Endodontic files are quite small. They are usually less than 5 centimeters long and their handles are only a few millimeters in diameter. They can be difficult to manipulate and are quite easy to drop. When dropped, because of their small size and the prone position of the patient, the files can be swallowed and may even pierce the throat or lung. Emergency medical attention is usually required when a file is dropped and the patient inadvertently swallows it.
Many files have small bores near their tops through which dentists can thread floss. In the event that a file is dropped, the dentist can pull the floss up and pull the file out of the patient's throat. However, bores are small and difficult to thread with floss. Further, the dentist and any assistants in the procedure wear protective gloves, usually covered in the patient's saliva. The lack of dexterity makes threading the floss through the bore even more difficult. As such, many dentists choose not to attach floss to the file, and instead place the patient's health at jeopardy.